When it comes to preventing the flu health officials have long suggested that getting the flu vaccine was the ultimate way to prevent it. Now it has come forward that the flu vaccine for this year is actually less effective than it was previously reported.

This season’s version of the flu vaccine reportedly has only an 18 percent effectiveness against the main flu strain according to the CDC, a number which is alarmingly low. This number is even lower than the 23 percent effectiveness of the prior flu vaccine.

As if that was not enough concern, for children the vaccine is even less effective than for adults. Children between the ages of two and eight years old only have an effectiveness rate of 15 percent. The nasal spray version of the vaccine may not provide any protection for children at all.

The reasoning for this comes from the fact that the vaccines are created by including the strains that health officials assume will be making the rounds. This version of the H3N2 flu strain that is currently going around was not factored into the vaccine that came out for this season.

For this reason, many people who received the flu vaccine in efforts to prevent it will still end up getting it this year. Many already have.

The CDC’s spokeswoman Dawn Thomas still seems confident that getting the vaccine is a smart move, however.

“Vaccination is still the best way to protect against the flu. There are many strains of the flu circulating and this year’s vaccine could still protect against other strains that might be seen later in the season, such as type B. Additionally, if vaccinated people do get the flu, they may have a milder case of the flu,” she said.

George DiFerdinando, a professor in the department of epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health continued to discuss the vaccines importance.

“When this happens, it’s not a surprise, it’s a disappointment. Even this year, the vaccine saves lives. Did it save as many lives as we hoped it would? No. Did it save lives? Yes,” he said.